Festival Fever
The academy's classes were genuinely useful in all sorts of ways, just like we'd seen in the previous chapter. They didn't just teach you how to win in party dynamics—they showed you how to come out on top in human relationships too. [Is "use Hunter sensitivity in the worst-case scenario" seriously considered proper fucking education?!]
'It's the Auto K-Hunter Response Method. Its effectiveness is historically well-documented.'
But just because something helps doesn't mean it isn't boring. No matter how delicious a meal is, if you eat it every single day for months, you'll eventually get sick of it. The academy's classes were no exception to that rule.
Of course, objectively speaking, second-year classes were quite relaxed. During first year, they'd packed the schedule right up until evening. Compared to that, second-year classes that only ran in the mornings seemed almost angelic in retrospect.
But they say human greed knows no bounds. We weren't satisfied with having our afternoons free and instead craved dropping classes entirely. The repetitive daily routine felt dull. We needed some fresh stimulation.
Luckily, there was one such source of stimulation in the second semester.
The festival.
Just two words, yet they carried such a beautifully resonant ring. Last time we'd simply passed it by, but this year we could fully enjoy the festival.
[What kind of wind blew this way? Wasn't the author supposed to be a total loner?]
'What fancy show during the festival? The bastard who yelled "Chiksho!" and ran straight to the PC bang.'
- It hurts, so stop hitting me, you fucking bastards.
Anyway, what comes to mind when you think of a festival? The most obvious thing is the variety of street stalls that always pop up. And with that variety comes just as many things you can do. Whether it's playing special games, eating delicious food, or buying something to remember the occasion by.
The academy wasn't much different. During festival season, countless stalls lined up in neat rows across the campus.
And right now, as soon as classes ended, we were walking among those very stalls. It really felt like the festival had truly begun.
In the middle of that atmosphere—
"Husband! These fucking bastards are getting cocky!"
"What is it now?"
Elsia suddenly started grinding her teeth. She wore a face full of clear dissatisfaction as she looked at the stalls lined up around us. Then her mouth opened, and fury poured out in full force.
"How dare these mere student bastards try to make money so easily!"
It was hard to find any similarities among the diverse appearances of the stalls. However, there was one clear common point, just as Elsia said. They were all run by students.
[Have they all already realized that being a Hunter is pointless?]
'Honestly, grilling chicken skewers is way more profitable than grilling monsters and dying.'
In a way, it was obvious. Due to the academy's closed-off policies, outside businesses weren't allowed to conduct profitable activities on campus during the festival. Only students could do so. The academy didn't tolerate market intervention from external companies.
However—
[Even so, for something made by students, the quality is pretty high.]
'Of course. It's not like those bastards actually made them.'
There were ways around it. To get past the restrictions, outside companies would lend the stalls to students. In exchange, they promised a share of the profits.
Apparently displeased by this, Elsia stomped her foot and poured out her anger once more.
"I cannot tolerate building wealth through such cowardly actions!"
"We made a ton of money too, but some dumbass dumped it all into coins."
During the preliminary rounds of the last tournament, we'd run a stall and made a decent amount. The problem was that Elsia had poured every last won into coins.
"......Who did that?"
"You fucking bitch."
When I pointed it out, Elsia turned her gaze away and played innocent. Naturally, Hye-ji and Ayeon weren't about to let it slide.
- THWACK!!!
"It hurts!!!!!!!!"
"Die, you stupid bitch."
"I'm suddenly in a fucking bad mood."
Clean low kicks from both Hye-ji and Ayeon. Two fierce strikes landed simultaneously on Elsia's legs, producing a single unified impact sound. Naturally, Elsia clutched both thighs and collapsed. Caersi made a look of utter disdain before offering us a suggestion.
"Can't you all just make money this time around, nya?"
But Caersi's suggestion was impossible. After running a stall before, we'd been reported, caught by the National Tax Service, and fined for tax evasion. The additional measure the academy had taken against us afterward was a permanent ban on official profitable activities. Until graduation, no less.
"We can't."
"What a shame, nya. You guys were the supernova of the food service industry, nya."
"And even if we could, I have no intention of doing it."
Caersi tilted her head at my words, looking puzzled. But I truly had zero desire to do it. The reason was simple.
"Those academy bastards take fifty percent as a commission."
"......Those motherless sons of bitches, nya."
The academy had no conscience. We later found out that the academy itself had been the one to report us. All because we hadn't paid the commission.
[Even Google and Apple take thirty percent through in-app purchases.]
'Those guys are crazy too.'
At that moment, Piece suddenly spoke as if she'd realized something.
[Then the platforms that use in-app purchases would take a hit, wouldn't they?]
'In the end, this match ends in Novelpia's victory by default for neglecting their app!'
At this point, I was starting to suspect there was a regressor among Novelpia's management. They must have foreseen all this and deliberately left the app untouched.
Anyway, since we'd come to enjoy the festival this time, we dragged the still-unable-to-stand Elsia along and wandered around. Just then, we spotted a stall in front of us with a student leaning on the counter, chin in hand, dozing off. We headed straight for it.
There wasn't any particular reason. It had just been sparkling, so I'd impulsively decided. The dozing student noticed our approach, quickly stood up, and began greeting us.
"Welcome!"
I examined the student's appearance as he kept bowing to us. Gold rings. Gold bracelets and a gold watch. Gold earrings and piercings. A gold necklace. And even flashy golden blond hair. He'd gone all out with every possible gold accessory.
[So that's why it was sparkling.]
'It's a golden goblin bastard.'
He must have been dozing because there were no customers. The way his face lit up the moment he saw us made it look like he'd just caught some suckers.
"How many people will be playing?"
"Shin-woo, I want to try this."
"It looks fun, so I'll do it too!"
"This lady shall try it as well."
The stall was none other than a shooting gallery. It was the kind of shop that always appeared at festivals. You shot objects with a gun to win prizes. However, its reputation among people wasn't very good. The targets wouldn't fall down and they'd call it invalid, or they'd hand out terribly made guns—unreasonable conditions like that. Plus, even if you somehow won, the prizes were worthless replicas or decorations.
Anyway, among us, Hye-ji, Elsia, and Ayeon said they wanted to try shooting. My shooting skills had always been trash, and Caersi said using her body was too much hassle and passed. The three who were participating paid a hefty sum to the blond student.
The blond student, who had been smiling happily at the growing pile of cash in the register, quickly began explaining the rules to them.
The problem was—
"The rules are simple. Just shoot the prizes with the gun. That's it."
The explanation was way too sloppy. It was the attitude of someone who'd already taken the money and had no further business with them.
"Which gun should we use?"
"You can just figure that out yourselves. You're not kids."
He was even trying to brush it off without handing over any guns. Looking closer, there seemed to be a faint sneer on the blond student's face.
[He's obviously a scammer.]
'Is that bastard laughing at us?'
But he still needed to explain properly.
- Click.
"If you don't want to die, hand over everything you've got."
Because Hye-ji had suddenly manifested a firearm and pressed it against the blond student's forehead. A bead of cold sweat trickled down the side of the student's face at the sudden threat.
"T-that's against the rules!"
"You said to get the prizes with a gun? So hand them over."
This was clearly a rules violation. Threatening someone with a gun to steal prizes at a shooting gallery. That was just what a robber would do.
"Hye-ji, you're supposed to shoot the prizes. Not threaten people."
"Oh, really?"
"Y-yes! You have to shoot them to win the prizes!"
The student hurriedly added an explanation. He should've done that from the start.
- Bang!
The moment she heard the proper explanation, Hye-ji immediately pulled the trigger. The muzzle flashed, sending a bullet flying toward its target. The target, of course, was the blond student's smartphone. The bullet pierced straight through the center, leaving an indelible deep scar.
After confirming the mark, Hye-ji turned back to me.
"Shin-woo, this is fine, right?"
"Yeah, that's fine. Now you can just take the phone."
This time, Hye-ji had legitimately obtained the prize without breaking any rules. I found it adorable, so I handed over the phone and patted her head. She responded with a bright, goofy smile.
Just like this—this was how a festival was supposed to be.